mspanther
October 23, 2017
8
Watched the movie last night, kept me interested although somewhat predictable plot. Big bad guy, quiet good guy, helpless victims, bad guy gets his. Overall I did like the movie, but then again I like anything Denzel is in.
For me this was a very entertaining vigilante flick. Denzel Washington is excellent in his role as a cold and calculating yet compassionate vigilante. The movie is slower than a lot of movies in this genre but that does not make it boring and when the action starts it is measured (for a movie in this genre) and well done.
Although there is a red thread, started by McCall’s first act of vigilantism, running through the movie he also performs a few on the side jobs as well during the movie. I like the vigilante stuff so for me this was some nice fillers to round off the movie.
The main thread pitches McCall against a real psychopathic Russian enforcer. No one can say that this movie did not have a well done bad guy. The role is quite well played. The guy is creepy to say the least. Not to mention violent of course but then so is McCall when the time is right.
One thing I liked with this movie is that McCall it is not one of the usual run around, look dangerous and clobber the bad guys in periodic outbursts of violence stereotypes. McCall is always calm, calculating, behaving intelligently and the baddies almost never realizes the mistake they just did until it is quite a bit too late.
Sure, the capacity of McCall to clobber the bad guys, usually without getting hurt himself, is bordering on superhuman but what the heck, it is fiction after all. Totally realistic movies are rarely fun, at least not movies of this genre. Also, the end fight where the baddies are more or less running around aimlessly and get taken out could have been better. Especially since the Russian mobster had shown quite a bit of intelligence up until that point. Having said that, I did like that it did not degenerate into the usual 20 minute shoot anything that moves nonsense. McCall is continuing his cold and calculating rampage through the unfortunate individuals on the wrong side and the various ways of disposing of them are rather creative.
On the whole I found this to be a rather entertaining movie. In one sense it is the usual vigilante stuff, which I happen to like, but in one sense it is not your normal run of the mill vigilante movie thanks to Denzel Washington’s cold, calculating and intelligent portrayal of McCall.
Expected pretty good, got very good. Can't call _The Equaliser_ a perfect movie, but I love me a mixed bag of content like this.
_Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time._
Denzel Washington saves the day.
There's nothing I'd consider special about <em>'The Equalizer'</em>, though thanks to a typically stellar performance from lead Washington I still had a fun time watching this 2014 release. It's a great showing from Denzel, not that that is a surprise given he is - alongside Leonardo DiCaprio - my favourite actor.
Otherwise, it's a pretty standard vigilante action flick which probably goes on for slightly too long and features some forgettable, if solid, support cast/characters, the latter is especially true for the rather plain villains. The music is also standard, though does improve towards the end with the final score and end credit soundtrack.
All in all, a worthwhile watch thanks to Denzel. I'm hoping the sequel, whilst still featuring a top lead performance, is more of a well rounded effort - I guess I'll soon see!
CinemaSerf
February 25, 2025
7
“McCall” (Denzel Washington) has taken refuge from his chequered history by laying low working in a DIY store, minding his own business. That peaceful existence is compromised, though, when his colleague “Teri” (Chloë Grace Moretz) ends up in an altercation with a mysterious thug that puts her in hospital. Seeking to avenge this, his meticulous retribution soon attracts the attentions of the equally calculating “Teddy” (Martin Csokas) who seems to have an army at his disposal for “McCall” to find various ways to slaughter whilst both play a perilous cat and mouse game. Now there’s really precious little jeopardy here. We know how it’s going to end up, but along the way Washington and Csokas create quite an effective degree of menace aided by loads of dimly lit photography and fairly end-to-end brutality. We, of course, discover a little more of why our ninja has become a recluse - but that’s provided more for reference rather than to subsume us in a mire of sentiment and there’s actually very little here to distract us from an out and out revenge thriller that delivers well. It does miss that little jingle that used to accompany Edward Woodward when was “The Equalizer” but aside from that, allows Washington to thrive at his deadliest less-is-more.
